As remote work and education continue for many, Penn Arts & Sciences has shifted some of its popular, long-running programs to a virtual format and created some new ones.
In June, following the killing of George Floyd and other incidents of racist violence, a special series, What Happens to a Dream Deferred? 60-Second Lectures on Racial Injustice was launched. The series, whose title was inspired by Langston Hughes’ 1951 poem, “Harlem,” explored this difficult issue from a variety of perspectives. Faculty spotlighted the history and contemporary manifestations of racism in the U.S., Black lives and culture, and the range of factors that contributed to this moment.
60-Second Lecture topics in the fall included a second round of 1.5-Minute Climate Lectures. This series, which seeks to sound the alarm about the climate emergency and share a vision of constructive and comprehensive response, debuted in September 2019. This year’s topics included the role and limits of the oceans and climate change in the curriculum. And in a second collection of 60-Second Lectures this fall, Social Institutions During Social Distancing, faculty shared their observations on the social institutions that hold us together. Talks touched on economics, disagreement, and life during COVID-19.
The pandemic also inspired a brand-new series: Big Ideas for Strange Times, featuring short talks on life’s bigger questions from Penn Arts & Sciences faculty and graduate students. The big ideas ranged from “Why Is There Something Rather Than Nothing?” to “Why Are We Drawn to the Morbid?”
All these talks—and all Penn Arts & Sciences programming — can be watched online here.
Fall/Winter 2020
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